


Friendly Advice

by sibley (ferns)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Gen, Post-Episode: s04ep17 Null and Annoyed, Pre-Episode: s04ep18 Lose Yourself, giving relationship advice to your girlfriend's scary dad, this is dumb. roll with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferns/pseuds/sibley
Summary: His powers and their sudden disappearance weren't the only things Breacher wanted Cisco's help with, apparently.





	Friendly Advice

**Author's Note:**

> Like it says in the tags, this is between episodes seventeen and eighteen of season four, mostly just because that's the only place it would make sense.

Cisco’s more than used to surprises while he works. Usually they’re of the sudden metahuman attack or the sometimes annoying best friend with superspeed variety, and don’t usually come from a now-retired interdimensional bounty hunter crashing into his room and jumping up onto the desk behind him, but that’s not  _ so  _ out of the ordinary that Cisco can’t roll with it.

Cisco spins around in his chair, already anticipating that he’s about to be attacked.  _ Again.  _ “I thought you retired.”

“I am retired.” Breacher glares at him. He’s balanced very precariously on the desk, looking… Surprisingly normal, aside from the eerie glow behind his eyes that he and his daughter share. His is gold, hers is red. Cynthia's makes her look very pretty when the sun-stop it, Cisco. Focus.

“Then what are you doing here?” Cisco turns back to his blueprints and labels the right side of a rear sight. He groans when he realizes the answer to his own question. “I still haven’t made up my mind about the job, if that’s what you’re wondering. It’ll probably, um, take me a few more days. Or weeks.”

“It’s not about the job.” Breacher shifts awkwardly but doesn’t make any moves to jump down from his seemingly extremely uncomfortable position. “I have another… Problem… That I need your help with.”

Cisco looks over his shoulder as he decides that considering how stressful the last problem he helped Breacher out with he’d rather do literally anything else than go through that process again. “And you can’t ask Cynthia to help you with it because…?”

“I tried.” Breacher honest-to-god  _ blushes. _ “She laughed at me.”

“What about one of your old Collector buddies? Or, like, literally anyone on the planet that you know who’s not me? You must have other people you can ask for help that aren’t me, man.” Cisco’s aware he’s being a little rude, but honestly it’s just a small sliver of the payback he's owed for getting straight-up  _ hunted  _ for a day.

“Due to the… Nature of my problem, I can’t talk to any of them.” He sounds frustrated. Cisco figures he’s not used to problems that he can’t just scare away or blast in the face and call it a night. “Vibe. Cisco. If you do this for me I’ll… Convince Cynthia’s brothers and her ex girlfriend not to come threaten you like they want to.”

“That’s not fair, your family is scary,” Cisco grumbles.  _ Besides, Kate already came and threatened me. Extensively. With a powerpoint presentation.  _ “Fine. What do you need help with?”

For someone desperate for Cisco’s help, Breacher sure has a hard time spitting out exactly what he wants his help  _ with. _ “What is it called when you  _ don’t  _ want to punch someone in the face?”

“Dude.” Cisco blinks at him slowly. “That could be literally anything. Mild acceptance? I don’t… Most people have that as their  _ default setting,  _ man! You could be feeling anything!”

“What is it called when you don’t want to punch someone in the face,” Breacher says louder, crossing his arms and puffing himself up in a way that makes his position even more precarious, “and they make you feel like you can trust them?”

“Um.” Cisco shakes his head and swivels around to face Breacher fully in his wheeled desk chair. This is  _ not  _ a conversation he wants to be having, and he almost wishes Breacher came here to interrogate him about taking the job offer. “Trust, probably? You said it yourself? Or just… Friendship? Have you never had friends before, or something?”

“I have friends! I know what friendship feels like! Probably!” Breacher glares. “This is not friendship! It is like-not wanting people to hurt someone not because you want to be able to do it but because you don’t want anybody to do it! Is this a side effect of me losing my blasts?  _ Explain. _ ”

The corner of Cisco’s mouth twitches as he puts all the little pieces together. “I think it’s a side effect of you having a crush on someone."

“I am  _ not  _ a  _ teenage girl,”  _ Breacher hisses and almost falls off the desk, which Cisco tactfully does not comment on. “I do not have a  _ crush  _ on  _ anyone.” _

Cisco’s little smirk turns into a full blown grin.  _ That’s  _ why Cynthia thought it was so funny. “You do! You totally do! Now you have to tell me about her! Is she from Earth-47 or Earth-19? Is she also a retired Collector? Is she, like, some old, badass lady? Does Cynthia know her? You have to tell me everything. You came to  _ me  _ for help so you have to tell me about your crush. That’s the rules.”

“I don’t get  _ crushes.”  _ Breacher gives up the fight to perch on the edge of the desk and jumps off onto the other rolling chair, which slides a few inches across the floor from his sudden weight. Which is still clearly a difficult place for him to crouch menacingly in jeans and a t-shirt, but he manages as well as he can. Cisco can’t help but be impressed.

“Well, I think you totally have one right now, so…” Cisco draws out the  _ o  _ and shrugs his shoulders. “And are you honestly telling me you’ve never been in love before? Like, if you haven’t, I guess there’s nothing wrong with that but-I mean, Cynthia, like,  _ exists.  _ So you must’ve at some point…”

“That was a mistake,” Breacher says tightly. At the expression on Cisco’s face, he looks away. “Not Cynthia. She never was. She’s  _ perfect.  _ But her mother was.”

Cisco doesn’t ask. “Well, in my professional opinion, you’ve got a crush. Do with that what you will, but as far as I can tell, you’re in love with this woman.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do about it?” Breacher scowls. Or at least Cisco is pretty sure he does. It’s kinda hard to tell what’s angry and what’s just a normal expression for him. Especially when they’re probably the same thing.

“You could tell her? In person or write her a note or something? Or just try to ignore it until it goes away?” Cisco suggests. “Or go back to asking Cynthia for advice instead of coming to me?”

“A note.” Breacher looks at him, hard. “You said I could write a note?”

“Yeah. I mean, it’s kinda middle school, but it’s how I asked out my first girlfriend, so it might work. Not that you have to actually date your crush. A note can just… Clear the air between you two, yeah? So that there’s transparency?” Cisco desperately wants to go back to his blueprints. And for Breacher to leave.

Breacher nods to himself. “A note…” So he doesn’t  _ actually  _ have to talk to them. Or acknowledge verbally that he has a ‘crush’ on them. Yes. Good. And a note can be short. To the point. Clear and direct. Good. “Thank you. Cisco. I’ll write… A note.”

“You’re welcome.” Cisco watches to make sure that he actually leaves with what might  _ actually  _ be a tiny smile in Cisco’s direction (although it could’ve just been a weird face spasm) before going back to his blueprints with a little sigh of relief and a small shake of his head.

Which, of course, is when the alarm starts blaring that means he’s about to be needed somewhere around Central City really damn soon, and Cisco jumps up to run toward the Cortex with a soft groan of  _ “are you kidding me?”  _ and a sad parting glance at his poor sketches.

And if he sees Joe tucking a note into his pocket later with a surprised look on his face, he doesn’t mention it.


End file.
